Investigators said they found the remains Thursday inside a computer box that was behind other containers and piles of trash in the detached garage in Toledo.
An autopsy will be conducted later in the day Friday, and other forensic tests were scheduled over the weekend to determine if the remains are of Elaina Steinfurth, said Toledo Police Chief Derrick Diggs.
‘We found what we believe may be baby Elaina,’ he said.
The home and the garage belong to the family of a man who had been dating the girl's mother.
Both the mother, Angela Steinfurth, 25, and her now-estranged boyfriend, Steven King II, 23, have been arrested and charged with obstruction of justice. No charges have been filed since the remains were discovered.
Miss Steinfurth and her two daughters stayed with King at his family's home June 1, investigators said.
The girl's father, TJ Steinfurth, 25, went to the residence to pick up his two daughters at around 2pm the next day, but only Elaina's 4-year-old sister, Kylee, could be found.
Investigators have said Miss Steinfurth knew Elaina had been seriously injured and didn't seek medical help. They would not say what type of injuries the toddler had or who caused them.
Angela Steinfurth has been in jail since mid-June. King was charged in July with lying to investigators about the child's disappearance.
He told reporters after his arrest that he is innocent.
Authorities, including the FBI, have scoured nearby homes, vacant buildings and the Maumee River near downtown Toledo for any sign of Elaina over the past three months. Volunteers also have looked through neighborhoods and parks.
From the beginning, the investigation into Elaina's disappearance has been rife with rumors and speculations.
Police have chased down numerous leads, including tips from two psychics who claimed that the girl's body was in a Jerusalem Township field crying, 'Mommy.'
In another twist, a woman who claimed to be Angela Steinfurth's cellmate claimed that the 25-year-old mother told her in confidence that King had wrapped Elaina's body in a blanket and tossed it into the river.
Officers searched both the home at at 704 Federal Street and the garage in the days after Elaina disappeared, but did not get to the rafters.
During a press conference Friday, police explained that they did not bring in cadaver dogs to search the property because it was overflowing with junk, according to First Coast News.
They went to back to the home just after 3.15pm Thursday armed with a search warrant and removed the box with the remains, just hours after Mr King appeared in court at a hearing where his trial date was scheduled.
Tensions were high on Federal Street, where neighbors and friends have been holding vigils since Elaina's disappearance. Police had to be called in to break up a fight that was sparked by speculations over the contents of the box removed from the garage.
Several women were heard yelling at each other, 'An eye for an eye,' The Toledo Blade reported.
They went to back to the home just after 3.15pm Thursday armed with a search warrant and removed the box with the remains, just hours after Mr King appeared in court at a hearing where his trial date was scheduled.
Tensions were high on Federal Street, where neighbors and friends have been holding vigils since Elaina's disappearance. Police had to be called in to break up a fight that was sparked by speculations over the contents of the box removed from the garage.
Several women were heard yelling at each other, 'An eye for an eye,' The Toledo Blade reported.
Angela Steinfurth's stepfather, Richard Schiewe, said the box was not in the garage the day after the little girl was reported missing.
He said he went into the garage with police when they searched the building.
‘That body was not in the rafters,’ he said Friday. ‘Somebody went and got that body and put it in there.’
He said he went into the garage with police when they searched the building.
‘That body was not in the rafters,’ he said Friday. ‘Somebody went and got that body and put it in there.’
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